The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
To be aerodynamically efficient, airborne mobile platforms, for example aircraft, should have highly integrated configurations that combine good performance, useful payload, and good stability and control characteristics. To achieve this objective, mobile platform configurations should have efficient, effective, and robust control effector suites. Removing conventional control surfaces offers the benefit of improved aerodynamic and structural efficiency but can degrade air vehicle stability and control. This is especially true of tailless aircraft configurations, for which hingeless yaw control concepts have been difficult to implement to date.
Pneumatically-actuated circulation control devices provide aerodynamic control potential similar to conventional moving controls but require a supply of high-pressure air to the actuators. This can necessitate bulky, heavy and hot supply infrastructure which is difficult to package in many portions of an airborne mobile platform. Electrically actuated acoustic control devices rely on harmonic excitation to alter the boundary layer. The harmonic excitation is generated using devices similar to a speaker, which includes moving parts. However, in mobile platform design, there is an interest in decreasing the number of moving parts associated with the various and numerous subsystems that the platform typically employs.